NORWAY AND THE NORWEGIANS
duty, a knowledge of economics, and a
great sympathy with the progress of peo
ples. He speaks well, briefly to the point,
and he possesses a melodious voice; but
probably no other man, not even another
sailor, hates to speak in public more than
he does.
I remember on one occasion sitting
near him at dinner.
"The King eats
little," I could not help remarking to the
lady in waiting next to me, "and yet he
does not look ill."
"The King," she answered with a smile,
"is neglecting his favorite dish, which is
roast chicken, because he is expected to
make a speech, and that is the one horror
which can make a good Scandinavian like
him neglect his food!"
"A CONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT FOR LIFE"
Speaking of democracy, work is not
looked on as menial in Norway. I recall
the incident of an American woman,
visiting Christiania, who, having been in
vited to a court ball, went to a hair
dresser's. The coiffeuse was very amia
ble, well bred, and efficient. Nevertheless,
the guest was astonished when she saw in
the ballroom this coiffeuse leaning on the
arm of her husband, a lieutenant in the
army. This was not regarded as in any
way remarkable in democratic society.
"I am afraid," the King of Norway
once said to me, "that you Americans
look on us as almost too democratic; in
fact," he added, smiling, "your President
is a king for four years, while I am a
very constitutional president for life."
Now, many persons in our country who
are not at all conservative may be rather
amazed by the incident of the hair
dresser appearing at the ball and by her
taking the proper rank; but it must be
remembered that occupation, in Norway,
does not imply ill breeding, coarseness, or
a lack of knowledge of the finer things of
life. It is very probable that this woman,
who helped to eke out the small salary of
her husband, without loss of dignity,
spent a month each winter on the Riviera
or in Italy or in Paris. She and her hus
band probably lived in what would be
considered rather cheap lodgings-in
what the French call hotels des nobles
ruinds-but that would not prevent them
from enjoying the best things which Italy
or France has to offer.
Norway is one of the few countries in
which luxury is not regarded as a neces
sity of civilized life. I recall, with amuse
ment, the astonishment excited in univer
sity circles when an American professor
appeared with a splendidly dressed wife,
a Rolls-Royce car, a valet, and a maid.
By reason of his splendid appurtenances,
his reputation as a scholar was almost
ruined, in the eyes of the Norwegians and
the Danes, who associated high thought
with simple living.
I remember the impression made on my
mind by one of the gentlemen connected
with the University of Christiania, when
I stopped at the hotel to leave a card for
this eminent American scholar just after
he had arrived. The Norwegian teacher,
who had seen him drive up in his limou
sine, asked me who he was. I told him.
"It's impossible; he can't be a professor !"
was the comment.
The impression has gone abroad that
because Norwegians are frugal their
country is impecunious. This is not true.
A small country which can afford to de
vote each year to the church, to the
schools, to the encouragement of science
and art about two million dollars can not
be said to be either miserly, mercenary,
or very poor.
NORWAY'S LANGUAGE TANGLE
There is one thing which the Nor
wegians have not yet learned, although
Bjornstjerne Bjornson, with all his au
thority, tried to teach it to them-that
the multiplication of languages is a bad
thing in any country, since it adds to the
difficulties of the working as well as the
business man.
The literary Norwegian language, as
written and spoken, resembles Danish
very closely, although the inflections and
intonations in speaking are different.
Well-spoken Norwegian is almost a har
monious chant; but, no matter how well
the Norwegian may speak his own lan
guage, it takes him a long time to learn
English well, and a longer time if he must
disentangle himself from the composite
language called maal, which certain pa
triots are doing their best to make general
in Norway.
The maal is not really a dialect of the
peasants; it enshrines no folklore. It is,
as a learned professor says, a kind of
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